Garage door operator



June 1931. A. E. MICH AELSON ,3

GARAGE 'nooa orsauon Filed July 18. 192:

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR A.Z 7Mwkac6w BY ATTORNEY June 16, 1931. A. E. MICHA ELSON- 1,310,320

omen noon OPERATOR:

Filed July 18, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 2- INVENTOR .AlEfMzckaelson,

ATTORNEY June 16, 1931. w A. E. MICHAELSON 1,810,320

' GARAGE DOOR OPERATOR- Filed July 18, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 (L WW" INVENTOR Ali'M zckaels on,

ATTORNEY Julie 16, 1931. A. E. MICHAELSON GARAGE DOOR OPERATOR Filed July 18, 192:

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I 1 z v INVENTOR J zahrckaeison;

. wxmm a BY V Z ATTORNEY Patented June 16, 11931 en-rearorrics ivrnn'rsonnonrY nmn PER, onnr ro nrnhe nscnnnrnnn, or 'ronrrnnn, oaneon.

' GARAGE I noonlornitetron V 7 Application filediluly :18,

.a great labor saver being operable by a car driver without: necessitating the leaving of the carand which may be easily installed and operated and which is so siinple in construction that it may be manufactured and sold at a price within the reach of every car owner.

Another. object is to so construct such an apparatus that the doors may beconveniently and substantially locked in either open, closed or partly closedposition in accordance with 'th'ewishes of the operator.

Anoth r object is to so construct and I mount an apparatusofthischaracter that it will be entirelyconcealed whenflviewed from theoutside when the doors are open except for an extension of the operating wheel.

Still another object is to so. construct an apparatus of this character that oppositely wound pull ropes are so connected that a pull on one will actuate the doors with which they are connected and simultaneously wind up theother rope ready to be pulled for actu ating the doors intheopposite direction, said pull fbeing alternately, operable to unwind Y one rope and wind up theotherand to simul taneously operate the doors according to the wishes of the operator; 7 e v Incarrying out these ob]ects theinvention is susceptible of Wide range'of modifica tionwithout departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the claimed invention; there being shown in the drawin'gs for illustrative purposes a preferred and practical form, in which: I 'i j Figure l representsaside elevation of a garage equipped with this improved door oneratorwith an automobile shown approaching the garage;

tion of the housing containing thepull mech Fig; 2 is a detail perspective view of a poranisin and which isjhere shown'locked; Fig.3 1S a rear elevation of thedoor oper ating mechanism with the garage within which itis' mounted shown partially broken" out and in section;

Fig.4; is a bottom, plan view of the mecha- 192s. SeriaI No. 293,521.

ANDREW EUGENE nrc'nanns'ontor ronrnnnn; onneoiv, nssienon, Y MESNE nssien-t in full linesandin openposition in dotted j lines, with the walls of the garage in section;

5 is a front elevaiionofthe housing which islocated at apoint inthe front of the garage and which contains the pull mechanisinfor operating the door opener with the frontand rear 'walls of the housing shown.

removed, those illustrated being-in section; I v

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on the, line 66.ofFig.5; c Y Fig; 7 is a detail vertical section taken on the line 77 of Fig. 5;

line. 88 ofFig. 5

9-9 ofFig. 5; 4 v

Fig. 10. is a detail perspective view of one oit'jthecastings constituting a part of the in V Fig. 8 is a horizontalsectiontakenon the I i Fig. 9is a similar vlew taken on 'theline the ot er ost lllustrated a garage '1 which later are hinged to swing outwardly into open positionas shown clearlyin dotted lines in Figgiya-ndin connection with which the operating mechanism constituting this invention is showng V e i Anuprigh housing 5 is shown located at a point in advance ofthefront of the garage at one side of thedrive way and withinwhich a portion of the dooroperating mechanism is possession of the car driver. A-pipe 7 pref-f erably of galvanized iron connects the upper end of the housing 5 with the upper portion of the front of the garage above the door frame, floor flanges 8 and 9 being located at the opposite, ends of thepipe 7 where it joins the housing 5*and the garage. B-otatably mounted in-the housing 5 is a power-pulleylll preferably made in the form of; a wooden Wheel a out eight inches in diamete more or located. and whichis protected againsttam less which is provided at its opposite ends with heads 11 and 12 having ratchet teeth formed in the peripheries .thereof. The teeth of one wheel extend in a direction opposite to those of the other. These heads or castings 11 and 12 are preferably made of metal about one-half inch thick and about nine inches in diameter and they are rigidly secured to the pulley by bolts or other suitable means. The pulley is mounted on an axle journalled in the housing 5 in the form of a bolt which extends through opposite faces of the housing as shown clearly in Fig. 9.

Pull ropes 13 and 14 are wound around the pulley 10 in opposite directions and secured to the pulley at one end while at their other end they are equipped with hand grips 13a and 14a respectively. These pull ropes 13 and 14 are of a length'to enable them to be unwound sufficiently from the pulley for op-- era-ting the doors in'the manner presently to be described without disturbing the anchorage of the ropes on the pulley,there being one more turn of the rope around the pulley than is necessary to complete the operationof the 1 doors.

By pulling on the rope 14 to unwind it for a length from twenty to twenty-six inches it operates to turn the pulley backwards sufli' ciently to close the garage doors and during this unwinding and turning backward of the pulley the pull rope 13 is wound upon the pulley. If the rope 13 is drawn out from twenty to twenty-six inches it unwinds, pulling the pulley 10 forwardly to open the doors and automatically winds the rope 14 back into osition.

Su stantially U-shaped pawls 16 and 17 are pivotally mounted between the side walls of the housing 5 and in part comprise a look- 'ing device for the doors 3 and 4. When the pull ropes 13 and 14 are'both at rest the pawls 16 and 17 through their teeth 16a and 17a engage the ratehes of the heads 11 and 12 thereby preventing the pulley 10 from moving in either direction. The pawl16 has its tooth 16a at the free end of one of its arms and pawl 17 has its tooth 17a on its cross bar. It

- will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 5 that whenin this position the pawls rest on and overlie the ropes 13 and 14 When a pull is exerted on rope 13 pawl 17 is disengaged from the teeth of the ratchet head 11 and it remains'disengaged so long as there is a tension on the rope 13. During the process of pulling rope 13 and disengaging pawl 17, pawl 16is enga ed with the ratchet teeth of head 12 there y preventing it from moving in a directionopposite to that of head 11. By pulling rope 14 the effect is the same as when rope 13 is pulled except that it is reversed. By releasing [the tension of either or both the ropes 13 or 14 the pulley 10 locks instantly and remains in set position. This arrangement provides a convenient, practical and a s e I D recess on its inner face to receive a casting 26 whichsupports pulleys 21 and 22 and also guide pulleys 23 and 2 1 which latter are arranged in planes at right angles to the former. This casting 26 is secured to the extension block by a plurality of bolts 27 which pass through the front facing'or-flange 28 and through the block as is shown clearly in Figs. 5 and 6. The extension block 25 isprovided with a pipe receiving or communicating opening 29 around which the floor flange 8 is arranged and bymeans of whichthe pipe 7 is secured'to the block as is shown clearly in Fig.5. This construction insures the proper alignment of the pipe opening with the, pulleys and prevents any;

possibility of them getting out of register.

v The inside opener assemblageis shown in Figs. 3 and 4 and comprises whatwe will term the main opener wheel and the auxiliary opener wheel 40. These wheels 30 and 40 are rotatably mounted on a hard wood beam 50, and on which are also mounted guide pulleys 51 and 52 around which is trained the cable 20 to place it in alignmentwith the pipe 7. This beam 50 is shown suspended by hangers or irons 53 depending from the roof 2 of the garage said beam being braced at its ends by irons .54 secured to the side walls of the garage as is shown clearly in Fig. 3, it of course being understood that the beam may be braced atany other point found necessary to hold it rigid and in permanent position. It will be observed that this beam and the parts supported thereby are located some distance above the door casing'for which there are two reasons, the first being that the whole assemblage is hidden from view from outside when the doors are open and second, it permits boring the hole leading to the pipe 7 sufiiciently high above the top of the door to permit the doors to swing under said pipe if so desired. It will readily be seen that when the doors are-open the only things visible-to the outside are the opener wheel extensions 35 and which swing under the top casing and just outside of it and which will be hereinafter more fully described; I The two --pulleys 51 and 52 are so mounted at-theend of beam that they may be conveniently moved backward or forward to moreeasily place them in direct alignment with the mouth of the pipe 7 before anchoring the pulley. You can see in this mounting the cable 20 willbe prevented from rubbing against any metal and by so doing will extend. the life of the entire apparatus in: definitely.

The cable 20 is trained around the main opener wheel 30 and is secured thereto by the 1 tightener 31. This cable then passes around pulleys 51 and 52 through pipe 7 over the pulleys 21 and 22 in, the housing and between the guidepulleys 23-and 24 thereof and around the power pulley 10. The cable 18 wound three times around the power pulley 10. It is understood, of course, that cable is attached at both, ends .to the wheel 3O,

' until all slack is taken out of the cable, 20.

pulleys 51 and 52'1nay be moved backward or forward untilin perfect and direct alignment with the opening in pipe 7 and then they are made last. After this has been done the catch32 at the end of the bolt 31 1s turned This cable '20 being also made last to the power pull y 10 there is no possible way; by which either outside or 1ns1de mechanism can I get out of adjustment since the reciprocating and is then passed around wheel 30 to cable tightener 34 of the wheel 4 0 and "anchored. This cable 60 is passed aroundthe wheel 40 back to the point of beginning on wheel 30 where it is secured. This cable is provised with tighteners in both the wheels 30 and i0 and is attached to these wheels befcre ship.

ping. The wheel 30 is termed the main opener wheel because it receives the IGCIPI'OCillJOi r motion from the power pulley 1O anddrives the auxiliary wheel 40 by means of the cable as shown in Fig. 4.

The two wheels 30 and 40 are provided with radially projecting extensions 35 and 45 respectively and which are connected by links 36 and 4L6 with; the doors 3 and ,said

links being pivotally connected at oneend to the doors and at the other .end to the extension of their respective wheels. It will thus be seen that a pull on the cabl 20 in one direction will simultaneously turn the wheels 30 and 40 and through the extensions carried therebyand the links 36 and 4:6 operate to open the garage doors 3 and 4 into the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4 and when turned in the opposite direction incident to a pull on the other end of cable20 these wheels will be swung inwardly and the doors closed.

In Fl 1 both of the 'ara e doors are C b 3 shown in open position and securely locked in that position by means or the dogs 16 and 1'3. To unlock these doors the door 6 of the lions ing5 is first unlocked which exposes the two pull ropes 13 and 14. A pull exerted on one of these ropes automatically releases the looking device andat the same time draws both garagedoors into closed position and atthe 7 instant the tension of the pull rope is released the pawls automatically lock leaving the doors in a closed locked position. To open the doorsa pull on the opposite rope is given, the mere tension of which releases the locking device and permits the doors to open. W hen the doors are completelyopen the releasing w of the tension on the rope pulled releases the pawls and they instantly drop into engagement with theteeth'of their respective ratchet plates and lock the door-sin their open position." When the doors 3 and a are closed and, locked and the small door 6 of the housing locked the entire apparatus will be secured againstunauthorized opening.

Vihile this operating device is disclosed I as used'inconnection with garage doors ob viously it may be used on gates and other doors. i r I I V hthout further-description it is thought that the features and advantages of the invention willrbe readily apparent 'to those skilled in the art, and it'will, ofcourse, be understood that changes in the form, propor .tion and minor details of constructionmay b'e-resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or its scope as claimed; Iclairn: y i 1., An operating mechan'is'mifcr doors and the like comprising a power pulley, means fonloclring said pulleyto hold the door xin connection with which it isused in either open or closed or partially opened or closed position,-anda cable wound on said pulley and operable by *pull exertedthereon to simultaneously release said locking means and actuate the pulley to operate thedoor. p

2. A dooroperatlng mechanism compnsmg su ort-in structure a ower 11116 3 mounted torotate in said structure, means for loclnn'g said pulley 1n ad usted position, ca-

- bles wound on said pulley and operable by a pull to operate said "pulley-in opposite. directions and also to release said locking means, an oscillating member connected with the door tobe operated, and aconnection between said oscillating member and said pulley whereby the turning of the pulley. will actuate saldmemberto open-or close the door.

ans operating mechanism for doors and.

the like comprising a power pulley, a connection between saidpulley and the doorto be operated whereby the turning vof the pulley will operate the door, pullropes wound around the power pulley in oppositedirec .tions and secured at one end thereto and means torv locking said pulley in adjusted position said means being releasable by pull on one of said ropes.

4... An operatingmechanism for doors and the like comprising a power pulley, having ratchet plates at the opposite ends thereof,

theteeth of one plate extending-in a direction opposite'those of the other, pawls for engagingv said teeth to lock the pulley in adjusted positiompull ropes wound on said pulley in opposite directions and anchored at one end thereto, one of said ropes being engaged with one pawl and the other with the other whereby a pull on either will release its cooperating pawl, and a connection between said pulley andthe door to be operated controlled by the turning of the pulley.

5. An operating mechanism for doors and the like comprising apower pulley, a cable secured to and wound on said pulley, a connection between said pulley and the door to be operated, means for locking said pulley,

said locking means being released and said pulley actuated by the unwinding of said cable to open or close the door in connection with which the mechanism is used.

6. An operating mechanism for doorsand the like comprising a main and? an auxiliary opener wheel spaced from each other and mounted to rotate, a cable trained around said Wheels and attached to both of them, said Wheels having radial extensions with links connecting said extensions to the doors to be operated, and an operating cable trained around said main opener wheel and fixed thereto whereby a pull exerted on said cable will operate to turn both of said wheels to open or close the doors.

7. An operating mechanism for doors and the like comprising a power pulley, cables secured to and wound on said pulley in opposite directions, a connection between said pulley and the door to be operated, ratchet plates at the ends of said pulley, the teeth of one plate extending in one direction and those of the other in the opposite direction, U-shaped pawls spanning said pulleys and pivotally mounted at their ends, one of said pawls having a tooth on its cross bar to engage one of said ratchet plates, and the other having a tooth on one end for engaging the other ratchet plate, the cross bars of said pawls overlying and resting on said cables whereby a pull on one of said cables will release itscooperating pawl and simultaneously turn the pulley to actuate the door with which it is connected.

ANDREW EUGENE MIOHAELSON. 

